Late
by CarpeDiemEveryday
Summary: A collaboration between CarpeDiemEveryday and MediaMessiah. Brendan is trying to sort out his feelings for May. Unfortunately, he just might be too late... HoennShipping, unfinished, contact if interested in resolving plotline.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello, hello, hello! This is my first collaboration fic ever, so it should be interesting. I don't really know how to explain the wheres and whyfores, so someone more qualified should stand up or something... and no one does. Okay, whatever...**

**This is a fic that originated in MediaMessiah's brain, but unfortunately he feels incapable of writing it. So here I am. I deserve a medal or something, I know. But then it would just collect dust. It's a moot point, so I should really just shut up now.**

**DISCLAIMER: Okay, how sad is this? Not only do I not own Pokemon, I don't even own this plot. Boo hoo. But whatever; at least I have something to work on. Pokemon, of course, is the happy property of Satoshi Tajiri. But this is all probably not new to you, so g'head and read.**

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**Late

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**Chapter One

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Friday study hall. It was still unknown just who or what had devised that torture, a classroom full of teenagers who either had finished their homework or were simply slacking, forced into relative silence by a stern-faced teacher. A tall boy lifted his head slightly off his hand to check the clock once more. Ten minutes to go. Brendan Birch slumped back down, idly tapping his pencil against a blank sheet of notepaper. _Tap ta-tap. Tap ta-tap. Tap ta-tap. Tap-_

"Stoppit already!" a voice from his right hissed. Brendan sat up, turning in his seat to face his friend Wally, who was glaring at him over a thickly bound book. "You're killing my concentration," he muttered, pale green eyes already returning to the page, searching for where he had left off.

Brendan sighed as quietly as he could, not wanting to disturb Wally further, or annoy the teacher, who was glaring suspiciously in his direction. The last thing he needed was a detention on a Friday, especially when there were only -he glanced at the clock once more- only seven minutes left. He propped his chin back on his hand and stared, glassy-eyed, at the clock. There was no way that clock was working; the second hand was moving much too slowly.

Finally, after an agonizing three hundred and eighty-seven seconds, the slightly nasal voice of the principal, Mr. Evans, came over the PA. "_Attention, students,_" he began, clearing his throat importantly, "_This is a reminder that the Halloween dance is to be held a week from today. Tickets will be sold at the door, and I'm sure it will be a night to remember for all of you._" No one missed the bitter sarcasm in his voice, but it was well-known that the principal had a strong dislike of high school dances. Something to do with getting dumped in front of the whole school at prom, or so the story went.

"_Well, that is all. Have a lovely weekend, everyone._" The PA clicked off and the bell rang, jolting half the class out of their daydreams. There was the usual chaos as everyone scooped up bags and coats, stampeding towards the exit and ignoring their teacher's protests. After all, it was Friday; what could she do?

Brendan fought through the crowd to his locker, twiddling the dial and opening it to deposit his books. The locker door to the left of him was open, and he peered around to see his friend May Maple, struggling to jam a few textbooks into her cluttered locker. "Need some help?" he offered.

May turned to him, grinning embarrassedly. "Yeah, I keep meaning to clean this thing out, but I never get around to it, ya know?" Together, they tried shoving her books in amongst the mess, but there really wasn't anywhere for them to go in the sea of papers. They paused, scanning the small space for any hidden space to stuff them into, but none were visible. May suddenly snatched a piece of paper as it drifted to the floor. "So that's where my algebra homework went! I knew I'd done it!"

Brendan rolled his dark eyes. "See, this is where being organized would probably help you out, May." He then glanced into his own locker, where all his books were shelved neatly. "Hey, seeing as there's really no place for your books to go without them falling on you, why don't you just put them in here? I've got space."

May's eyes brightened. "Really? I can put my stuff in there? Aw, Brendan, that's so sweet, thank you!"

Brendan shrugged. "Just clean out your locker for me, okay?" He placed her books neatly in his own locker, then shut the door.

May grinned. "Shall we get going? We're pretty much the last people here, Drew's waiting on us!"

"Oh, yeah, right," Brendan muttered, the peaceful happiness evaporating as she mentioned Drew's name.

May noticed this. "Hey, what's wrong?"

Brendan straightened. "Uh, nothing, I think, um, let's go…" They walked down the hall towards the exit, May humming random snatches of songs and Brendan following, wondering why he'd suddenly felt... jealousy, perhaps? Just from May saying their friend's name?

But random flares of jealousy seemed to be cropping up more frequently, as of late. Ever since he'd figured out his feelings for May were a fair bit more than just friendship... But, still, he'd reasoned with himself, that could just be hormonal. After all, there was no denying that May was very pretty. In any case, he figured saying anything would just cause problems, possibly even ruining their friendship. Perhaps a small corner of him, the brutally honest part, just didn't want to risk rejection. He shook his head, trying to clear his mind, and hurried to catch up to May.

They stepped outside into a blindingly bright October afternoon. May led the way down the rows of cars to a forest green sedan. A green-haired teenager sat behind the wheel, frowning as he pressed a button on his phone and raised it to his ear. Looking up, he saw Brendan and May through the windshield and flipped his phone shut. He then rolled down the passenger-side window and leaned toward the opening.

"Hey, why didn't either of you answer your phones, I've been calling for five minutes! And what took you guys so long, anyways?"

Brendan shrugged. "May had locker issues, and I think my phone died." He then opened the passenger-side door for May, mock-bowing as he did so. She grinned and mock-curtseyed in return before getting in. It was just one of those pointless rituals they'd picked up over the years. He then settled in the backseat, resting his head back on the foam headrest.

Drew rolled his eyes. "You guys are so weird, you know that?"

May grinned. "Yeah, but you love us anyways."

Drew waved an airy hand. "Whatever you say, May. Now can we please get going? I'd like to be able to enjoy at least a little of my Friday, you know."

May glanced around the car. "Well, safety first, Drew. Is everyone buckled?"

At this, both Brendan and Drew rolled their eyes. "Geez, May, you sound like my mom," Drew muttered.

The brunette pouted. "I just don't want to die, is that so wrong?"

"Are you calling me a lousy driver?"

"Well, have you seen this car lately? How much of it's original parts?"

"Ugh, what do you even know, you probably don't know the brake from the gas!"

"Oh, you mean like you when you went through that red light last week?"

"Hey, that light was yellow!"

"No, it was red!"

"Yellow!"

"Red!"

"Yellow!"

"Red!"

"Yel-"

"FOR CRYING OUT LOUD, CAN WE JUST GO?!" Brendan yelled suddenly, stunning the other two into silence. Not an easy feat.

"Um, yeah, sure…" Drew mumbled awkwardly, starting up the engine and carefully backing out of the now-deserted parking lot.

The sedan remained silent for the fifteen-minute drive, save for the radio, which pumped cheerful pop music through the vehicle. Drew, apparently trying to prove he was capable of driving well, was focused on the road ahead, a welcome change, admittedly. May stared out the window, watching the trees swaying in a gentle breeze, leaves being shaken free and floating down to earth like orange and brown feathers.

Brendan, meanwhile, sat back with his eyes closed, reflecting on his day. It hadn't been particularly interesting, but then again, it was a Friday. The only item of note was that the Halloween dance was in a week, and even that didn't matter much to him. He was never really one for dances, nor were his friends. They'd probably just sit around their houses watching horror movies, or they'd be passing out candy to kids dressed up like Sir Aaron or Aipom. Or, they might just go trick-or-treating, though it was entirely possible they would be considered too old for it…

"Hey, Brendan, wake up, we're here," May's voice observed. He opened his eyes and stretched.

"C'mon, c'mon, hurry up, I've got places to be!" Drew urged. Brendan rolled his eyes at the impatient driver, then slung his backpack over his shoulder and got out of the car and onto his driveway.

"See ya, Drew!" May called, waving as the green car pulled out of the drive and sped off down the street. She then turned to Brendan. "And I'll see you next week as well, Brendan."

Brendan yawned. Why was he so tired all of a sudden? "Okay then. Don't forget, your stuff's in my locker."

She grinned. "Oh, yeah, that's right! Well, bye then." She waved, then cut diagonally across her lawn, vanishing into her house next door. Brendan smiled until he heard the door slam shut, then sighed, gazing wistfully at her house, wishing he understood himself well enough to explain to his friend that he had feelings for her. It was amazing how one lawn could feel like ten thousand miles, he thought ruefully to himself. May might as well have been that far away, for the amount of notice she took of him. Shaking himself once more, he tore his gaze from the house next door and let himself into his own home, closing the door behind him.

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**Chapter one completed. And now, a message from the 'real' owner of this story, MediaMessiah:**

This is my idea, mine! I just... am not that great a writer as people seem to be telling me. I can't write this scenerio(?) so I just... gave it to Carpe. I am however going to write the last chapter. Musicstory of course, and Carpe is doing the rest. I do proofread and give suggestions and help. But I am just at a loss for words at anything high school setting. So yeah... Um... Later?

**And because I am so nice, I help. Wonderful of me, isn't it? Especially since I thought I'd fail at high school settings too. Well, maybe I did. Which brings me to my next point: reviewing.  
**

**So, you know you want to review. But maybe you just don't feel up to logging in, or maybe you can't log in at all. Well, if that's your excuse, it's a lame one, because anonymous reviews work just fine for me.**

**A warning to you all: this fic may get updated really sluggishly. Quite apart from 'misplaced priorities' (read: education), the simple fact that two people are working on anything makes it take a lot longer. But reviews give you wings, so...**

**Cheerio,**

**Carp  
**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hi there! Sorry for the delay, which is apparently all my fault, but more on that later. I'm (slightly) saddened, though. Only two reviews?! Which is not to belittle you guys, Pika, Sage. You guys rock, and I'm sure Media agrees. But as to the rest of you... well, whatever. Just read.**

**DISCLAIMER: The plot comes from MediaMessiah, the cast comes from Satoshi Tajiri. As for me... well, I don't own much of anything. I like to think that I'm the special sauce.  


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Chapter Two

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Brendan crossed his arms tightly, trying to conserve heat. He briefly considered running back into the house for a jacket, then decided against it. The Monday forecast claimed that it would be a warm day, one of the last warm days of the year, in fact, and he really didn't feel like carrying around a coat for the rest of the day. Still, it was hardly day. The sun had just reached the rooftops of the houses across the street, and the patches of grass left in shadows were coated in a frosty filigree.

Brendan pulled his hat down to better protect his ears from the morning chill, then checked his watch. Drew wasn't actually due for a couple more minutes, but Brendan had learned it paid to be ready early. He and May had learned the hard way that if they weren't outside the moment Drew pulled up their street, he would go straight to laying on the horn, which had upset the neighbors. So now Brendan sat atop a decorative rock at the foot of his driveway, shivering and wondering where May was.

"Hey, don't you need a sweatshirt or something?" Brendan turned to see May standing over him as if on cue, her messenger bag slung carelessly over one shoulder. She shifted to drop her books with a _clunk_, then perched on the edge of the rock.

Brendan tilted his head to the side. "Don't you?" he countered, observing that she, too, was in short sleeves.

The brunette shook her head. "Meh, for what? Five minute's worth of comfort, then a whole day's worth of carrying the stupid thing around? Seems a tad bit silly to me. Besides, I have an idea." She scooted closer to Brendan, closer than was perhaps absolutely necessary to keep her from falling off the rock. Close enough that she was pressing against him, leaning on his shoulder. Brendan flushed.

"Um, May, wh-what are you-" he began, stuttering, though whether from the cold or the situation, he wasn't sure.

His friend giggled, moving closer, if that were possible. "Stealing all that body heat you're handing out to the great outdoors. Might as well put it to good use, right?"

"B-but, um, what do you, you d-do know how this l-looks, right?" Brendan managed to get out, now fully aware of the source to his stuttering: not the cold.

May just rolled her eyes. "Brendan, you are such a wuss. What, don't you remember what we learned in Bio?"

Brendan turned a darker shade of red, against all odds. "Erm, uh, what part, exactly?" he asked somewhat incoherently.

May's forehead creased in confusion, but then she grasped the implications. Her bright blue eyes widened, and she punched his unprotected arm. It hurt, too. "Oh my God, you pervert!" she squealed, retreating slightly from him, fists still half-raised and a little pink herself. "Not THAT. God, get your mind out of the gutter, already! No, I was talking about interacting with your environment, passing thermal energy, stuff like that!" She paused, then bit her lip. "Okay, it's not your fault, I should have phrased that better. But still… are all guys perverts or something?"

Brendan was saved having to answer her question by the arrival of Drew's beaten-up sedan. At once, the two stood up, grabbing their bags and hurrying towards the car. Brendan yanked open the passenger door for May, then deposited himself in the back. Their 'ritual' was always cut short in the mornings, mostly because Drew was usually late. Today was an exception, but speed was another ingrained habit.

The moment everyone was situated, Drew put the vehicle in Drive and headed towards their high school. "Morning," he said perfunctorily, not taking his eyes from the road. The other two were used to this, however; Drew was many things, but a morning person wasn't exactly one of them. They sat in real silence this time, as not even the radio played. But this too was normal. Besides, no one ever really felt like talking in the mornings.

They reached the school parking lot without incident. The trio joined the growing crowd heading for the building. Brendan tapped May on the shoulder. "Hey, don't you need your books?"

She thought for a moment, then shook her head. "Nah, I don't need any of that until after lunch. Oh, wait, I gotta meet Lanette. See you guys later!" She dashed down the hallway, weaving through the crowd, leaving Drew and Brendan behind.

"Well, see ya, Drew-" Brendan began, turning to leave, but Drew interrupted.

"Brendan, I need to talk to you," he muttered tersely. "Do you have a minute? It's kind of important."

Brendan blinked. "Uh, sure, yeah, Drew, what about?"

"Um, well, I need your advice about something, and-" Drew's voice was suddenly drowned out by the warning bell.

Brendan glanced at his watch. "Crap, we have class, Drew! Can't this wait until we get there, or something?"

Drew kept pace with Brendan's long strides as they hurried down the hallway to their first class. "Yeah, I guess…"

Actually, their first class, history, was an excellent place to have a discussion. Their teacher was a firm believer in group work, so each day was spent with partners supposedly discussing last night's homework, but actually just chatting about their weekends and whatnot. Drew ignored a passel of fangirls, all of whom offered to be his discussion partner at the very least, as he dragged Brendan over to one side.

"Okay, seriously, what's going on, Drew?" Brendan asked, now thoroughly confused and a bit worried for his friend. This concern was exacerbated by the improbability of the situation: Drew Hayden, asking for advice? It seemed preposterous. And, as if to top it off, he also looked nervous, seriously nervous, about… whatever it was.

Drew took a moment, seemingly steeling himself for whatever he was about to say. He cleared his throat, then sighed. "Well, you see… I want to go to the dance on Friday-"

"Really? Why?" Brendan blurted out before checking himself. Drew glared at him, a bit of his old personality visible for a moment. "Um, sorry, continue…"

"Yeah, I want to go to the dance, and I want to ask… someone… but I'm not sure what she likes or how to do this! Help me out, please!" Drew finished, voice cracking slightly at the end.

Brendan blinked. "You're Drew. Why on earth are you asking for advice on how to get a girl? And why me? Who is this girl, anyways?

Drew stared at him as if he had asked what that big warm shiny thing in the sky was. "May," he replied, simply.

Brendan sat back in his metal chair, stunned and horrified. He had never really considered Drew to be a potential rival for May's affections; in fact, he'd rather thought Drew barely tolerated her. "R-really?" he asked, mentally cursing the nervous tic that made him stutter under stress.

Drew nodded slowly, almost as if he didn't quite believe it himself. "Yeah, weird, right? I mean, she's so irritating, and it's so fun to tease her. And originally I thought it was fun just because of her overreaction. But it's just… she's so cute when she's mad! But if I ask her to the dance, she'll probably think I'm making fun of her. So what should I do?"

Brendan sat and thought for a moment, face masklike. Meanwhile, his mind was in turmoil. On the one hand, he wanted to tell Drew he wanted May too, had had feelings for her possibly even before he really understood what those feelings were. But on the other hand, he valued Drew's friendship and didn't want to sacrifice it over a girl, even if that girl was May. Added to that was the uncomfortable feeling that at this point, he would be breaking one of the unwritten rules of the world if he tried to go after May after Drew had expressed interest. He weighed his options, still expressionless on the outside, then came to a conclusion.

"Um… well, if you just go up and ask her, she probably won't take you seriously. She'll just think you're teasing her. So, if you want her to believe you… you need to make an effort. Do something romantic."

"Like what?" Drew asked, clearly hanging on Brendan's every word.

Brendan's face remained neutral. "Flowers, probably. Roses are the flowers of love, or something. So give her one of those. She'll be all over that. Got that?" He tried to smile, but it probably came off as a grimace. He had, after all, pretty much outlined his original plan for asking May out to Drew, who was going to go ahead and use it, and probably succeed, too.

Drew didn't seem to notice Brendan's lack of excitement, though. He nodded enthusiastically, grinning. "Yeah, you're right. Yeah, now I've got an idea… yeah. Cool. Thanks, man, you're the best!" He raised his fist, and Brendan tapped knuckles with him, somewhat robotically.

"Students!" their teacher called over the hubbub. "Since you've all been reviewing chapter three together, you should be ready for a pop quiz!" There was a collective groan as people returned to their seats, grabbing pens out of their bags. Brendan walked slowly to his seat.

"Yeah, Drew, no problem. Happy to help," he sighed bitterly under his breath. He looked down at the quiz paper before, but the words were just meaningless blurs of a) blah, b) blah, c) blah, or d) none of the ablah. His hand was on autopilot, circling answers almost at random. And running through his head was the same sentence, over again and again, reverberating in a mocking echo through all the corners of his mind: _You're too late. Too late. Too late. Too. Late.

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**So. Chapter Two is over and done, and now it is time for a Message From The Originator (MediaMessiah):**

"I Have been rather busy lately. College and whatnot have gotten in the way. It took some time to finalize this chapter. I blame Carpe, Guys are not that difficult to understand. later."

**See? It's all my fault. And to top it off, he chooses to spell my name... I suppose wrong is a matter of opinion, but differently from how I do. Whatever, I actually am to blame, but only because I want things to sound right. Again, whatever.**

**So now we have an uncomfortable situation for the guy with the sweet-awesome hat, who wants the girl with the sweet-awesome bandana, but his other friend with the sweet-awesome hair wants her too... Clearly, this is a sweet-awesome love triangle! Who will win? Well... ask Media. He's ending it, not me.**

**So (why does every paragraph start with 'so'?) now that you have read this, you should probably review. If you ask reeealy nicely, the more qualified author (Media, supposedly) might answer your questions. Or I will. Or both. So you get 2 for the price of 1! Yeah!**

**With that, I take my leave. Until next time, reader folk!**

**Carp  
**


	3. Chapter 3

**Greetings, reader-people. It's been another delightfully hectic week, but today I managed to write another chapter for y'all. So enjoy.**

**DISCLAIMER: Satoshi Tajiri owns Pokemon, MediaMessiah lays claim to the plot, and CarpeDiemEveryday (that would be me) makes it all work together. That's how it goes.

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Late: Chapter Three

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"So, I'm like, wait, today's Tuesday, and Lanette's like, uh, yeah, it is, and then she's like, oh wait, that reminds me, and then she was telling me this one thing about how there's this one guy who - Hey, wait, Brendan, is something wrong?"

Brendan blinked, refocusing on May, whose blue eyes were full of questioning concern. He shook his head. "Oh, uh, no, I'm fine, May, nothing's wrong."

She looked unconvinced, and he couldn't blame her. She leaned against the line of lockers, examining his face. "Are you sure?" she persisted. "Because, well, your eyes are always red, but they're… redder?"

Brendan resisted the urge to rub his eyes. "Oh, yeah, took me forever to fall asleep last night. And it might be allergies, too. They bother my eyes."

She raised her eyebrows. "Really? You've never had problems like that before, though."

He shrugged. "I dunno, this year's been different. I don't usually get allergies this bad during the fall, either." He turned to his locker. "You need your books today?"

"Yeah, but don't change the subject, I can tell something's wrong. I've known you for too long. You can tell me, you know that, don't you?"

Brendan bit his lip; her words stung. He opened his locker door, using it as a wall between himself and May. "I told you, nothing's wrong. What books do you need?"

He could practically see the brunette glaring at the metal door. He was a bit surprised it didn't melt under the force of her gaze. "Fine, don't tell me. And I need the green one and the navy one."

Brendan selected the two textbooks and handed then to May, swinging the door shut and facing her. "There's nothing to tell."

May sighed. "Okay then. You can still tell me anything, even 'nothing', but that isn't a have-to type thing. Just so you know."

"I do know. Believe me, I do."

"Good." She yawned, sliding down into a sitting position, still leaning against her locker door. Brendan stood leaning against his. They were quiet for a time, watching the other students bustling around, grabbing books, heading to classes, running up to friends. May suddenly sat up. "Ohmigosh, she's actually going to do it!"

Brendan glanced down at his friend. "Who's doing what now?"

May sighed impatiently, pointing across the hall to a girl with navy colored hair, tentatively knocking on an open locker door. A head popped out from around it, shoving black hair under a hat. Though Brendan was too far away to hear much of the conversation, he could tell that the girl was nervously asking the guy something. The guy apparently thought about it, then nodded, smiling. The girl looked terrified but delighted at the same time, waving goodbye and rushing pell-mell across the hall to where May sat, smirking slightly.

"How'd it go?" she asked teasingly. To Brendan, she added, "Hey, could you help me up? I'm kinda stuck here." Brendan nodded, offering a hand. She took it, and his hand tingled at the contact. But then she let go, able to stand on her own and staring expectantly at the blue-haired girl, who appeared to be hyperventilating.

"He said yes! He said yes! I'm going to the dance with Ash!" She laughed, then burst into hysterical tears. "B-but, wh-what will I wear? I'm s-so happy, but I d-don't want t-to mess this uuuuup!" The girl dissolved into sobs, shoving her face into May's shoulder.

The brunette sighed. "Shh, Dawn, it's okay, you'll look awesome to Ash no matter what you wear, that's what's important, right?"

Dawn looked up, blinking back tears. "B-but, b-but, what if we d-don't match? I'll l-look st-t-tupid!"

May patted her on the back, glancing over her shoulder at Brendan and rolling her eyes. "_I'll handle this,_" she mouthed, steering Dawn towards the nearest girl's bathroom, crooning soothing words to her as if she was an overemotional toddler. Brendan blinked, then shook his head. Girls were strange sometimes.

He then realized that he hadn't gotten his books out of his locker yet. Fortunately, he had time, as the first class had been cancelled that day. He turned back to his locker, twisting the dial idly. He swung the door open wide, eliciting a muffled curse from the other side. Looking around, he saw Drew standing rubbing his head.

"Ow, what the hell was that?" He glared over at Brendan. "What was that for?"

"Sorry, didn't see you, Drew," Brendan apologized, scratching the back of his neck embarrassedly.

Drew waved a hand dismissively. "Whatever, do you know where May is?"

Brendan gestured toward the bathrooms. "She's comforting some girl who's having a mini-meltdown in there. Clearly, we're not welcome."

Drew sighed. "Oh. Well, I guess this could wait." He produced a rose seemingly out of nowhere and raised his eyebrows at Brendan.

Brendan nodded appreciatively, which seemed to be the desired response. "Nice. You should do magic tricks."

Drew shook his head. "Nah, sleight-of-hand's nothing. I saw one guy turn a paper rose into a real one. By setting it on fire. Now _that_ would be a great way of asking her out."

"Asking who out?" The two spun, startled, to see May standing there. "Dawn's recombobulating as I speak," she explained. "So, Drew, found someone worthy of you at last?"

Drew recovered quickly. "Yeah, actually. Well, maybe 'found' isn't the right word. It's more like, realized this person is perfect and has been there for so long, but now I see-"

"Uh, Drew?" May cut in. "We all know you love to talk and stuff, but can you hurry it up or something? I have better things to do than listen to you comparing her eyes to the ocean or whatever have you."

Drew rolled his eyes. "Way to take the romance out of things, May. I want to go to the dance, but only if it's with you. Will you go?"

May gaped at him. Then, for an instant, her eyes flicked over to Brendan, who had arranged his face into an unreadable mask, being unable to imitate the supportive best friend. Then she snapped back to Drew. "Is this a joke?"

"No," Drew replied simply.

May inhaled sharply. "Um. Well, I wasn't really planning on going, but, yeah, I guess I could go. Um, like, is this as friends, or…?"

Drew gazed unblinkingly into her eyes. "Or, preferably."

"Oh. Um, wow, I didn't realize… um, can I think about this, please? It's kind of sudden, and… do you understand?"

Drew straightened. "Yeah, that's fine. Okay, see you later." He walked past, then stopped, turned, and handed her the rose. "For you, May." Then he walked off into the fast-dissipating crowds.

May turned, wide-eyed, to Brendan. "Oh my God. What do I do now? Should I go? I mean, I like him, but do I _like-like_ him?" She gazed up at him, almost pleadingly. To Brendan, it was remarkably like getting knifed in the throat.

He cleared his throat, trying to ease the sharp pain. "You should go. If you think you like him, you should go. No law says you'll have to marry him, you know."

May wrung her hands. "Yeah, but what if we don't work out? It'll ruin our whole friendship, and I really just don't want to risk it."

Brendan shrugged. "Hey, that's my advice. But think about it. Drew's a decent guy, you probably wouldn't ruin everything by going with him. It's one dance, just go."

May sighed, staring down at the rose held loosely between her fingertips. Suddenly, her grip tightened. "You know what, you're right. It's not like I hate him, so this should be good. Yeah, thank you, Brendan. Thanks."

Suddenly, she wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tightly. Brendan wanted nothing more than to return her embrace, to express how he felt to her in some small way, but his conscience forced down that impulse. Instead, he gently removed her arms from his waist. She looked hurt, but he stood firm.

"You can't hug random guys now," he reminded her. "It looks bad for you, and it gets us beaten up."

"Oh. Sorry."

"It's okay."

She glanced down at her hand and the rose it gripped. "Hm."

"What?"

"Well, I don't want this to get destroyed, you know? So, um, could I put it-"

"Oh, yeah, sure thing," Brendan nodded, turning to his half-open locker and opening it wide, gesturing for her to place it within. She did so, gently setting it atop her pile of books, then shutting the door.

"Well, see ya, Brendan!" May waved, then hurried off down the hallway. Brendan stood alone in the locker-lined corridor. Turning to his own, he leaned his head on the cool metal door, bitterly envisioning the future and all it offered. None of which seemed to include a happy ending for him.

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**Sniffle. Poor Brendan. Anyhoo, it's that time again, when we hear from the marvelous magical Original Idea Guy, who prefers MediaMessiah as far as I know, but is nonetheless the person who thought this up. This is what the Originator has to say:**

um, so yeah, I'm surprised by this. one, because I thought the Carpe wasn't writing this week, and two because there's a bunch of random plot bits that I hadn't seen coming. But I do approve of them. so yeah hopefully there'll be another chapter of walk it with me up soon. so don't stop believing, savvy? later.

**As for me, well, I didn't see those plot twistlets coming either. They just came, I dunno. But I liked them. And before I get a load of PokeShipper hate, seriously, I don't love Dawn particularly meself. However, I am a nice person, and also it's not my story, so I'm humoring the Original Idea Guy. Go whine at him if ye please.**

**Okay, so review, please, my psyche can't take the lack of people reviewing! It's highly disappointing, folks. I'm very disappointed in you. Feel the shame. Well, actually don't, but review all the same (ooh! Rhyme-time!)**

**All right, see ya when I see ya,**

**Carp**

**(P.S. Surprise next chapter, maybe... review and find out!)  
**


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